Kunsan Airmen participate in Invincible Spirit exercise

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFNS) --  Members of the 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons here flew a total of 20 sorties July 25 through 28 in support of Exercise Invincible Spirit, the first in a planned series of South Korean and U.S. Forces Korea combined naval exercises.

The exercise is in response to the unprovoked attack on, and sinking of, a small South Korean warship off the west coast of the South Korean peninsula. Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in the North Korean torpedo attack on the vessel.

"Invincible Spirit is defensive in nature and designed to dissuade and deter further provocations from North Korea," said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Remington, the 7th Air Force commander. "Our message is that we are here to deter aggression, should North Korea determine that they want to continue down this path."

The 80th FS flew 12 sorties for a total of 22 hours July 26 and 27, and the 35th FS flew eight sorties for a total of 20 hours July 27 and 28.

"We successfully defended our targets in our area of responsibility from the aggressors," said Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, the 80th FS commander. "We inflicted seven air losses without losing any of our own. We also worked in concert with our (South Korean) counterparts to turn the AOR over to them so they could continue defending the area."

Additionally, many support agencies from the 8th Operations Group participated in the exercise.

Members of the 8th Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment sections in each squadron provided the pilots with equipment they might need in the event of an emergency.

"We provided the pilots with survival vests with radios and GPS equipment, night-vision goggles for the night flights, and seat harnesses to strap them to their seats," said Senior Airman Anisah Lavine, an 8th OSS AFE technician. "We also issued them weapons and the aircrew chemical defense equipment for their protection during the wartime scenarios."

The 8th OSS airfield operations flight Airmen ensured the aircraft departed on time and without incident during the increased flightline activity.

Airmen in the radar approach control section extended their duty days, and the air traffic control tower required additional manning and extended shifts to help keep the pilots safe during the extended flying windows, said 1st Lt. Andrew Jinings, the 8th OSS airfield operations flight operations officer.

The 8th OSS weather flight Airmen kept their eyes on the sky during the exercise.

"From the time the pilots take off until the time they land, we mission watch them," said Tech. Sgt. Katrina Blanchard, the NCO in charge of the weather flight. "We have dedicated weather forecasters in each squadron providing weather support for the missions based on their location, during this exercise as well as real world."

Airmen from the 8th OG intelligence flight kept the pilots informed of any useful information coming from North Korea.

"We read daily intelligence for any rhetoric from our adversaries and passed the information on to the pilots," said Staff Sgt. Krystal Tokarz, the 8th OG NCO in charge of intelligence operations and analysis. "We provide this information on a daily basis as well."

Gen. Walter Sharp, the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea commander, thanked military members for their hard work and participation.

"I want to thank the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Department of Defense civilians of United States Forces Korea for your selflessness, vigilance and hard work in the aftermath of the unprovoked North Korean attack on the (South Korean) naval ship Cheonan," General Sharp said. "More than any weapons system, it is your teamwork, training and devotion to duty that deters North Korean aggression. I also want to thank you for successfully planning and resourcing a large exercise like Invincible Spirit on such short notice. Your achievement lets our adversaries and their leadership know that we are an agile, adaptive force capable of taking on any challenge."